


(Not So) Little Miracles

by YunaYamiMouto



Series: Worlds Collide [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Stephen Strange, BAMF Tony Stark, BAMF Women, Break Up, Delusional Steve Rogers, Don't Like Don't Read, Engagement, Extremis, F/M, Female Tony Stark, Fix-It, Gen, Harley and Peter are there to be silent trolls, Healing, Healthy Relationships, Magical Pregnancy, Maybe - Freeform, Mentions of good father Howard Stark, Miscarriage, New Avengers, Post-Break Up, Pregnancy, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Stephen Strange, Steve Rogers Has Some Serious Issues, Unhealthy Relationships, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YunaYamiMouto/pseuds/YunaYamiMouto
Summary: The Rouges return from Wakanda, expecting everything to go back to how it was before the Civil War. But Steve is surprised to see that Toni has moved on and has no regrets. How could she? Her whole future is right in front of her, after all, and it doesn't include any of her exes. Loved and happy, Toni is enjoying the one honor she had never expected to experience and it was all thanks to her new boyfriend. Magic makes little miracles, after all.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Tony Stark & Stephen Strange, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Stephen Strange & Wong, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Tony Stark & Vision, Tony Stark & Wong, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Worlds Collide [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709506
Comments: 73
Kudos: 1118
Collections: EGFixIts





	1. Chapter 1

Steve will never admit just how relieved he was when he heard that the US was ready to accept the so called Rouges - the public will turn around, he was sure of it. They were the Avengers, after all. They were Earth's mightiest heroes! - back as long as they at least _read_ the Accords before dismissing them. He was too excited to be going back home to correct them on the fact that they _had_ read the documents and had still disagreed with them, so he let it go and instead thanked a beyond tired looking T'Challa for his hospitality and all of his help before going to his room to pack his few belongings and boarding the jet Wakanda was lending them to take them back to America, enjoying his team's, his _family's_ elation to finally be going back home.

He will also never admit to how nervous he had been on the way back, so nervous that he even tuned out entire conversations on the long flight, as he thought about the one person he had left behind. It had been eighteen long, heart-wrenching, nerve-wrecking months since he had last seen his fiancée in that Siberian bunker, trying to kill his best friend because of something he had had no control over. Steve knew he could have handled the entire situation about ten times better than he had, but Bucky was all he had left and he couldn't let someone take something else from him after losing everything once already. He had hoped for a better, more mature confrontation with her, but he knew his beautiful girlfriend, knew all of her flaws and her bad character and he knew it could have come to that fight no matter how he had handled the situation prior to that moment in time.

After all, Toni Stark wasn't exactly a pillar of virtue and he had known not to expect much out of Iron Maiden's reaction. He _had_ tried to explain, though. Bucky was _innocent_. HYDRA was at fault. His friend had been brainwashed, hadn't been in control of his actions, his body had not been his own and Toni had been petty enough to think only of herself. Steve knew that she was never close to her parents and - as horrible as it may sound - she shouldn't have had such a violet reaction. Steve had heard her complain so many times about both of her parents that he was honestly surprised she had grieved at all. He had had the passing thought that she had only been looking for a fight and that was why she had attacked them, but he had been overcome by shame in the very next second. Toni wasn't really like that. Besides, he had seen the grief and betrayal in her eyes when she had demanded if he had known. Toni was a good actor, but not even she was good enough to fake that much sadness.

Steve mourned the way his last meeting with his girlfriend had went down, but he never regretted picking Bucky over her. Toni would be fine. She was Iron Maiden, she was Toni Stark. She had money, fame, brains and a reputation to keep her floating while Bucky would have drowned without Steve. She was obviously fine enough to fly the suit again and only a week after Siberia! Toni was nothing if not resilient. Steve had had no doubt his girl will be fine. Still, he had hoped she would contact him. He _had_ left that flip phone for her. Was his message clear enough? He forgave her for siding with Ross and the government that wanted to tear the Avengers apart and turn them into attack dogs. He was sure that had been clear enough in his letter. Maybe she had been angry and had thrown away the phone and had later regretted it? It could be a plausible explanation, since Steve had never been sure whether he had waited long enough before sending it to her. Oh well. He was sure they can fix it all now that he was finally coming home.

But then they had all arrived home, back at the Avengers Compound, only to find that no one was waiting for them except some agent looking man Steve was sure he had once seen in SHIELD. Only he was now wearing a badge with the Stark Industries logo on it, so Steve figured he might have mistaken him for someone else. Especially with the way the man was glaring at them all, specifically him and Natasha. He probably just had one of those faces.

The unpleasant surprises and Toni's true childish pettiness were unraveled when they got a short debriefing from the agent, stating that the East wing was off limits to the 'Rouges' unless they want to be physically removed by whoever was around to take that pleasure. They were not allowed to go down to the labs, their hours in the training simulator and the gyms were limited and they had only a thousand dollars to their names. Their gear was to be looked over by a government contractor, so they shouldn't bother 'Miss Stark' with their problems unless it was something they found on a mission. And speaking of _missions_ ,.they were on a two month probation period, Steve was no longer the team leader, since that position was shared between Colonel Rhodes and a Major Danvers (Captain Marvel, one of the New Avengers Toni had recruited while her _real_ team was fighting for their freedom), and was unlikely to ever again lead any team, not even in training simulations. Their rooms, thankfully, were left as they were but if they broke anything, they will have to pay for it. It annoyed them all to be treated like such kids but they let Toni have this round. They'd confront her later.

They even had a plan regarding that. Natasha had - rightfully - theorized Toni would hide from them to make them sweat and come begging for some time before she gave in and accepted she was wrong, like she had done so many times before. When that happens, _they'd_ bench _her_ after she gave up this farce and recognized them as her team, her _family_ again. After she speaks up for them in public, everything will be perfectly fine. After all, Toni had an - unfortunate - surprising amount of influence over the public opinion of things. People will realize they were wrong to treat their heroes like this and everything will go back to normal. Steve will probably have to talk some reason into her so she would quit trying to play hero and just retire, like she had tried a couple of years ago, and then deal with the mess their relationship had become. They had it all planned out.

What they hadn't planned for was to see Toni as soon as they walked through the doors of the common room, in what seemed to be a heated argument with a tall, strangely dressed man with a goatee, Rhodey and a blond woman grinning from ear to ear as the Iton Maiden broke it down - whatever it was that they were talking about - much to the impressed amusement of the man, Vision, two teenage boys - one a curly haired blond, the other a brunet with big brown eyes - and a dark haired woman that made Scott freeze in place. When the stranger - dressed in some strange blue robes and was that a self-moving _cape_? - grinned at her, Toni huffed, crossed her arms and whirled on her heel like the childish person that she was. Instead of getting annoyed, however, the goatee man just let his smile turn fond, sidestepped her, leaned down and, much to the shock of the original Avengers, Wanda and Scott, kissed Toni _right on the lips_. Which should have led to her blasting him with a repulsor, since she was still engaged to Steve!

Steve had seen her ring glinting, for god's sake!

"What's going on here?" Cap asked in as calm a voice as he could, hoping it would get the man to stop what he was doing and Toni to step away from him, but he only succeeded in getting five glares and one unimpressed look while Toni just sighed in frustration. The man looked up with the most bland expression that Steve had ever seen on a human being's face, startling blue-green-gray eyes freaking him out a little with their intensity despite him not glaring or anything.

But before he could examine the man any more, Rhodes stole the moment by speaking up. "So I guess you're all back." He didn't sound the least bit pleased about it, which was strange since Rhodey had always supported Steve's and Toni's relationship since he got her to eat and rest. But Steve swore the Colonel looked ready to rip him to pieces. The dirty blond kid did, too. "You got the new rules?"

"Yeah, we heard them." Steve replied, eyes never straying from Toni and the man standing a bit too close to her. Was that his hand around her waist!? "I'm guessing these are our new recruits?"

"Hope!?" Scott finally squeaked out, staring wide eyed at the unfamiliar dark haired woman, who only arched an eyebrow at him.

"Mr Lang," she greeted back, still looking unimpressed. She stood up and nodded at them. "I'm Hope Van Dyne, also known as Wasp. Mr Lang over there," said man was shrinking in on himself from her bland tone of voice. "Took my father's Ant Man suit to take into a fight that we did not approve of or had anything to do with us. I'm afraid we will be taking it back now."

"You can't take away his suit!" Steve indignantly exclaimed in Scott's place, since he looked ready to hand it over. "He's Ant Man!"

"I think you'll find that we can." Miss Van Dyne replied, glaring at Rogers now. Steve, seeing that she can't be reasoned with, turned to Toni.

"Toni, you can't let her take his suit! You understand that, right?" After all, she had told the government to fuck itself on live television and humiliated a senator and that Hammer guy just to make that point that Iron Maiden was _hers_. She would stand up for Scott, Steve was _certain_.

But instead she just shrugged. "I'm not about to get into a tiff with Hank after finally getting him to stop hating me after all these years just because Howard once pissed him off for a guy that tried to wreck my suit and caused millions of dollars worth of damage to a German airport."

"Wow, you're such a hypocrite, Stark. How do you even live with yourself?" Wanda snapped but before Toni could reply, the man beside her just arched an eyebrow.

"You should really go look in a mirror before you start projecting, Miss Maximoff. It only makes you look stupider than you already are." The two teens snorted openly, although the brunet one looked a bit sheepish about it. Toni just smiled up at the man as though she found him amusing and sweet, which was bullocks, since Toni _never_ let someone talk in her stead. She and Steve had gotten into enough fights about that when they were together for Steve to know.

Before Clint could demand the man's name or snap at him for talking to Wanda like that, the Scarlet Witch herself reacted and flung out an orb or red magic at the man and Steve closed his eyes at the expected impact - Wanda was a good kid, but ever since the RAFT imprisonment, her powers had been out of control and she hadn't been able to control them due to the lack of Vision - only it never came. The man just _brushed it off_ as though it weren't the strongest attack one of the real Avengers could dish out, and the red magic disappeared as if it had never been there, leaving the Avengers and Wanda especially _gawking_.

The man himself just snorted and turned back to Toni. "I need to get back to Kamar-Taj for a lesson, but I'll see you tonight?"

The genius just smiled at her companion, the type of smile she used to reserve only for Steve. The blond in question is stricken that this stranger is receiving the same treatment as him. "Just don't go gallivanting through dimensions without me again. You know how that ended last time."

The - obviously magical - man scowls at the brunette and she only chuckles. "That was _one time_! How was I supposed to know that that queen wanted to _mate_ , not create a simple working alliance!?"

"I don't know," Toni was completely milking the situation, teasing the robbed guy relentlessly. "Wong _did_ warn you not to go alone~!" She all but sing songed and the cape wearing man was flushing pink.

"You were finally sleeping. I wasn't about to wake you up for something that should have been easy enough to accomplish on my own."

"And yet Wong had to wake me up regardless because you needed your ass saved by a girl." Rhodey, Hope, Danvers and the two kids looked like they were _dying_ of silent laughter. Vision looked somewhere between confused and amused by their interaction.

But while he was blushing from having to be saved, the man took it all in stride with fond humor himself. "I guess it's not too embarrassing to be saved by _my_ girl."

"I honestly don't know whose ego you're stroking right now," Toni immediately retorted, completely ignoring the utterly flabbergasted faces her old teammates were making. Did this man just imply he and Toni were _dating_!? Steve felt like the world had crumbled from under his feet. Was this some sort of revenge plot on Toni's side? Well, she got what she wanted. Steve was beyond winded. How could she _do_ this to him? "My ego for you needing me to save you or your own ego for needing _me_ and not someone less awesome to save you."

"Hm, maybe a little bit of both," conceded the man before he leaned in again and kissed the engineer again. "I'll see you later?"

"Bet on it!" With a shared grin, the man pulled away, made some weird hand motions and a portal to some temple looking place opened up, leaving the Avengers _gawking_ again as he simply stepped through with nary a nod towards the other New Avengers. And just like that, the spinning-sparks portal closed and he was gone. Toni waited for a few seconds after he was gone before she suddenly started talking to what seemed to be thin air as she whirled on her feet and walked away. "Wong? Yeah, he's gone. You know how the protocol goes. Don't let him wander through dimensions without at least calling me first. I'll be on standby. Is it really necessary? Of course it is! He's as thick headed and self sacrificial as I am and I am _not_ letting him get killed just because he thinks that will somehow save the universe. Dormammu can go fuck himself. Hell hath no fury like a Stark pissed off. Lunch? Sure, what do you want? Stop the fake modesty, Wong, I know your fridge has been empty for two days and you guys have been relying on the rations in Kamar-Taj. Tell me what you want and what you need and I'll be there in about two hours. Of course it's no trouble! That's not even a dent in my hourly earnings and you guys need all the help you can get. After all, being Earth-protecting wizards is a hard job with no pay. Yes, yes, sorcerers, same difference. So, food? Yes, Thai sounds good. Oh! We should get those-"

As Toni's voice faded the further down the West Wing corridor she went, the New Avengers turned as one to glower at the original ones plus Ant Man. Scott squirmed under Hope's glare and, to the Rouges' surprise, slunked over to Hope like a dejected puppy. She motioned with her hand for him to follow her and the two were gone in seconds, to the ominous sound of retreating high heels on marble floors. Rhodes cleared his throat and arched an eyebrow at them, silently telling them to go away. Clint took it as permission to speak.

"Wow. So Stark's stooped so low as to start cheating now? Or is she trying to make Steve jealous?"

"Cheating?" Steve has to applaud the lot of them, because they all seem so _confused_ , as though Toni hadn't gotten them in on this.

"Who was that?" Rogers asks instead of letting Clint elaborate. He just wants this to be over so he can hold and kiss Toni and everything can be alright. God, he's missed her. He just wants things to go back to how they used to be.

"Oh, that was Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and the Master of the New York Sanctum." Several snorts and scoffs echoed as Danvers explained but the blond boy interrupted her with a - sharp and rather predatory - grin aimed at the Avengers, Steve especially.

"Toni's new boyfriend." Danvers looked at him reproachfully for the interruption but she didn't correct him in his definition of the man. "He's a badass."

"Yes, and he knows it," the other boy replied in a voice that sounded familiar to Steve, only he couldn't quite put his finger on it as to where he might have heard it before. Danvers and Rhodes snort, as does Clint despite himself, so Steve writes it off as a reference of some sort and moves on. That is, Sam moves on, continuing the line of questioning.

"But how can he be Toni's new boyfriend? She's engaged to Steve!"

Even _Vision_ , the nicest, most polite guy Steve knows, looks at them like they are simpletons. How very strange. "Toni broke off the engagement right after she returned from Siberia. She and Doctor Strange have been dating for six months." The red android explained in a bland voice, never even looking at Wanda. No matter how bad things had ended between them, Steve had been sure they'd make up right away. Neither of them had Toni's stubbornness, so Steve had assumed that they'd get right back to where they left off. He felt angry with Toni that she had been petty enough to not only ruin _their_ relationship, but that of Wanda and Vision as well.

But that's not the topic right now. He'll have to let Wanda and Vision deal with their own problems on their own. His own relationship was falling apart right in front of his eyes and he wasn't ready to lose Toni, too. Not so soon after visiting Peggy at her deathbed.

"Then why was she wearing her ring?" Steve challenged, remembering having caught a glimpse of it earlier.

Rhodey just looked confused, though. "Ring? What ring?"

"The ring I gave her when I proposed!"

Rhodey frowned, even _more_ baffled than before. "She put that thing in a particle accelerator and kept shooting at it until not even _traces_ of atoms were left. I should know, I was there. That was, like, the fifth thing she did after she got back."

"Fifth?" Natasha asked now, which Steve was glad for, since he was left frozen in face of Toni's mindless cruelty. He remembered spending _months_ searching for the right ring as he tried to chase down Bucky across the country. It had taken him _weeks_ to gather up the courage to ask her. He remembers that date perfectly well. He had spent almost all of his own money - the military pension or whatever it actually was - to buy out one of the most expensive and romantic restaurants in New York, a diamond ring and a new tux, had ordered a band to play them romantic music and had hired the best chef he could afford with the remaining money. Toni had looked so happy that he had tried to impress and spoil her and she had been _shinning_ when she said yes. Then Ultron happened and they had a little break but Steve would have _never_ broken off their engagement! He loved her! Couldn't she see that?

"Well, the first was a death-defying surgery that ended up with her having to both use Extremis 5.0 in order to save her own life after her ribcage collapsed and pierced both her lungs, hypothermia nearly stopped her heart and cost her a few fingers and toes and shock nearly stopped all of her organs from functioning," Rhodey said with venom, ignoring how pale and still Steve and Bucky became while the other Rouges looked on confused. "Then, she found out she had a miscarriage."

"Miscarriage!?" Steve barely choked out. Toni had been pregnant?! Why hadn't she told him!? Agony and guilt built up anew inside the blond supersoldier and he was sure Bucky was feeling twice as bad as him. After all, they were undoubtedly the reason why Steve's and Toni's baby didn't make it. God, he should have gone back to check on her after he'd met up with T'Challa! Maybe the baby would have made it. Steve couldn't believe he had killed his own unborn child.

He really needed to talk to Toni and make it up to her. For everything.

"To be expected, after the abuse dealt to her body. As if that wasn't enough, Extremis rendered her sterile, so she can never have kids again. Apparently, Extremis is too much for the reproductive system. Too fragile, or something. Too sensitive. Ask Dr Cho more about it. So after she woke up from surgery and after she mourned, she had to check up on me and that ended up with the new, top of the line, piece of art leg braces-"

"But you're not wearing any leg braces," Sam pointed out and the other army man glared and lifted one pant leg, showing them a strange contraption. Sam winced and Vision looked away, uncomfortable with his part in the accident.

"When she was done with me, Tones had to deal with the press fallout after your shit finally got out and that took up too much of her time. When she got all of that done, she took the ring, smashed it a few times with a hammer and then put it in the accelerator and destroyed it completely. So, yeah. That ring is history. I'm honestly relieved. That relationship was _toxic_ , just like everything else that had to do with you jackasses."

"Steve's and Stark's relationship was bad only because she was in it. We all know Stark is not fit to be in a relationship."

"Doctor Strange doesn't seem to think so." Vision replied with a shrug. "I've never observed a more stable and healthy relationship in the time I've been alive. They're really good for each other."

"But I saw the ring on her finger just now!" Steve protested, recalling the glint of a ring on Toni's ring finger. He knew he hadn't imagined it.

"I saw a ring, too." There, Clint confirmed it. Which meant Toni wasn't nearly as done with Steve as she was pretending to be or as Rhodes and Vision were making it out to be. There was still hope.

For some unknown reason, realization seemed to dawn on Rhodey's face while the two teens looked away, trying to hide their snickers and not meeting the Colonel's eyes. Even Danvers was looking away, shoulders shaking with mirth. "That bastard. That utter son of a _bitch_!"

"That's twenty dollars in the swear jar, Colonel Rhodes." FRIDAY, Tony's new AI, pipped in, voice sounding Irish and cheery. She beat Steve to the punch of reprimanding Rhodey about his language sure enough. But the army pilot didn't seem to care, too far gone in his anger at Strange.

"He proposed to her! How dare he propose to her without asking for my blessing! I'm going to wring his magical neck and launch him into space so they never find the body!"

"James, dear," Danvers said in as steady a voice as she could manage without revealing just how amused she was by the whole situation. "He did ask you. You told him no but you know how he is. He just turned around, said you can take it up with Dormammu and went to Toni with Italian takeout, a beer and popcorn and they watched a House and Doctor Who marathon. He proposed and she said yes. They didn't come out of their room until tomorrow evening. Remember?"

"B-but, but," Rhodey stuttered while Steve made a face, appalled. He had had to ask Rhodes, too, for his blessing and permission to both date and marry Toni Stark and the overprotective man who was like a brother to her had said no. If Toni herself hadn't shooed to Colonel away, saying she was a big girl now, they would have never even started dating, let alone gotten engaged! Steve had respected Rhodey's opinion. Why couldn't Strange have the same courtesy!? He was utterly unworthy of Toni, it was clear to the blond. "That was two months ago! When did he give her that ring?! Where did he even get that?! How didn't I see it?!"

"Sweety, Toni's been wearing it nonstop since she got it." The blond woman explained in soothing tones while the two teenagers looked ready to explode with laughter, merciless of Toni's oldest and dearest friend. "And Strange said he got it from a place called Nivadellir. Apparently, dwarfs have a working alliance with Earth's sorcerers and the king was all too happy to make it. Stephen had it charmed for protection so it serves several purposes. Not only does it state that Toni Stark's been taken, is a gorgeous piece of jewelry, a symbol of Stephen's unconditional love for Toni and the envy of all single women, but it's also going to protect her from nightmares, invading and hostile magic and even physical blows."

Rhodey seemed a little less hostile after that but was still rather hesitant about letting it go. "But-"

"Oh please, James." Captain Marvel huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and arching a challenging eyebrow at the man, who seems to be _her_ boyfriend. "Stephen worships her like a goddess and kisses the ground she walks on. He looks at her like she's the center of the universe or the key to all the knowledge of the world and he'd _die_ for her. He respects her and treats her like an equal. The only person who can chase him away is Toni herself and you know she won't unless he does something stupid. Stephen's good for her. There's not a better man in the entire universe for Toni Stark than Stephen Strange. Let it go, she'll be fine."

Finally, Rhodey deflated and shot a venomous glare at the giggling teens and, to the surprise of the Rouges, Vision, all three of them looking to be having way too much fun at Rhodes' expense. "Fine. I guess congratulations are in order." He groaned even as he started walking in the same direction Toni had left earlier. "Sh's never going to let me live this down, is she?"

"Nope," the two boys and Danvers said together and Rhodes groaned again. His glare didn't stop the others, even Vision, from following after him, camera phones at the ready to film his shame and, no doubt, tweet about it. They never stopped or turned around to acknowledge the Rouges as they left, almost as though forgetting they were there in the first place.

The team was talking amongst themselves but Steve was numb to it. He couldn't believe this was happening. He had nearly had it, his perfect dream. He and Toni were going to get married, she had been pregnant with his child and the team had been together, Bucky close enough for Steve to slowly integrate him into their lives. Toni had been retired from the Avengers, only occasionally flying the Iron Maiden armor, out of harm's way, safe. They had been happy ... Right?

Why had Toni had to go and sign the Accords? Why did she have to try and arrest them? Why did she attack Bucky? Why didn't she stand down when he had told her? This wasn't how it was supposed to be! How could she move on so casually?! They'd been together for _years_! Did it mean so little to her?

It doesn't matter. Steve was determined to show Toni she was making a mistake by going with Strange. She and Steve had history. She'll see reason, Steve was sure of it. He just had to talk with her alone. It was all going to be alright.

They loved each other, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Stephen did not like the way that the Rouges were all staring at him, two weeks after they had returned and met him for the first time. This was his second run in with any of them since that day, seeing as he usually just pops in right into Toni's lab and goes up with her or they just portal somewhere else, depending on the mood or the situation. In short, he had had little reason or chance to run into any of his girlfriend's old team and he had been grateful for that. After all, he was a doctor. Doctor's swore the Hippocratic Oath to do no harm and he very much wanted to do harm to the people that had betrayed, harmed and nearly killed the love of his life. It was for the best that the Sorcerer Supreme avoided all contact with the people he'd so gladly send to the Dark Dimension and forget all about them.

He knew his cold manner put them off, as he had been strangely polite to them the first time they met - or at least they figured that out on their second meeting when he showed them he had enough snark, sarcasm and sharp retorts to match Toni perfectly - and they weren't used to being treated like the villains of a story, but he really couldn't care any less. Had Vision found Toni even a minute alter than he had, there would have been no saving her. The suit he had brought with him had kept her alive until they reached the nearest hospital and it had still been too close a call for Stephen's liking and he hadn't even known her back then! Not like he did now.

He and Toni officially met for the first time when they were too young and too brilliant, at a scientific conference almost thirty years ago. Thanks to his eidetic memory - not that it was hard to remember how splendid she had looked in that long, tight, bold cocktail dress, as red as blood, accepted by golden jewelry that was modest in comparison, stylishly so, though - he remembered perfectly well how most of the men in the room had treated her as either a brat or a piece of eye candy, mistaking her for a plus one. He remembered her sharp remarks and her scatching tone whenever someone tried to talk her up without taking into account that she was the smartest person in the room - not that the Stephen Strange of that time would have admitted as much, but Stephen had matured a great deal since then, especially after Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One.

He remembered how she had appreciated when he stole her away from some creepy old dude who had had a little too much to drink and was an old friend of Howard's, so he had believed he was entitled to have a little fun with his daughter and he remembered how perfectly she had fit into his arms when he had taken her out to the dance floor. Cocky, confident, arrogant, smart and with a photographic memory that she kept secret from the world, she was the mirror image of Stephen himself, if in a female body and more focused on engineering - and anything else that she came across, as he learned later; Toni was never limited by only one field - instead of medical science. They spent most of the evening together, Toni being the perfect barrier between Stephen and the women who had been eying him up since he had appeared in his elegant tux and Stephen himself being a repellent to anyone who might bother Howard Stark's precious only daughter - yes, Stephen had become one of the few people on this Earth who knew the truth about just how close father and daughter actually were, despite what the media tended to say about his alcoholism, long trips away from home and fictional neglect of his daughter.

They had parted ways when said father came to ask his daughter for a dance and have only seen each other occasionally across a ballroom over the years since then.

But then their lives had spiraled out of their control, setting them on a path the universe had meant for them from the beginning. Toni nearly died in Afghanistan and became Iron Maiden upon discovering what her weapons were being used for, becoming Earth's first official superhero and Stephen had his accident, found Kamar-Taj, trained his ass of and became the new Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the New York Sanctum, also a protector of Earth, if only from the shadows. One would think with Toni becoming the very beating heart of modern science and Stephen taking on the position as the center of all things magical, they would never meet. He was the shadow and she was light. He hid while she transparently showed off for the world, being frank and honest. He protected Earth from threats unseen while she protected it from the threats no one else can handle. They walked so closely together and yet their paths never seemed destined to intertwine.

Until the media dubbed Civil War happened and Toni changed direction, somehow barging right in on Stephen's path, into his life and becoming the center of it.

It had happened during a mission meant to capture Karl Mordo, one of Stephen's few friends in the world and one of his mentors while he had been studying under the Ancient One. He had walked away from Kamar-Taj in light of finding out about the Ancient One drawing energy from the Dark Dimension to extend her life and had since then started eliminating sorcerers, or at least the ones who had chosen to settle for their miracle instead of using their powers to protect the Earth from mystical threats. They had finally found him, after moths of searching, only to fall into a trap and nearly end up magicless, too, had none other than Iron Maiden picked up on their energy readings and came to investigate, ending up rescuing Stephen, Wong and two other Masters. She had managed to not only tie up Mordo, but had also knocked him out and restrained him in such a way that he can't access his powers. Stephen later learned that it was a method developed to restrain the Scarlet Witch, but she wasn't a part of this story so he wouldn't dwell on that.

After that, she had almost demanded answers and had offered her help when everything was explained to her. The other Masters of Kamar-Taj only allowed it because a memory erasing spell had failed - thanks to Extremis - and Toni had promised not to report of their existence to any of the world governments. Instead, she became a donor for the Sorcerers of Kamar-Taj and all three Sanctums, asking in exchange only that they let her do some experiments and readings on their magic - out of scientific curiosity - and a helping hand if a threat too great ever arrives to Earth for just the Avengers to handle. Stephen stepped up for both conditions and that was the start of a marvelous partnership, that turned into invaluable friendship by the end of the first month and love - at least on Stephen's part - a week later. Toni, due to her trust issues and what had happened with her last lover, had been hesitant and needed more time but Stephen never pushed, never said anything even though they both knew Toni had figured him out.

A near death experience was all they needed to hook up, much to the amusement and exasperation of Rhodey, Pepper, Happy and Vision.

They agreed to take things slow, both too old to mess around anymore and both sure that what they felt for each other was maybe a bit too fast, too serious, too soon, too _real_. So they went one a few dates before they caved in and kissed for the first time. It had been sweet and gentle, a mere press of lips after a date that might have been thought of as cheap since Stephen couldn't really afford movie tickets but Toni had a home theater so he had brought food and she had provided a movie. Some old, corny chick flick and a horror movies so bad they spent the entire time complaining about both, laughed at each other's remarks or teasing each other's aim when they threw popcorn at the screen. It had been a great date, all in all, and Stephen had been on cloud nine since they kissed. Wong could testify. He had a picture of Stephen's silly grin on his phone, the traitor.

Hand holding should have been a really awkward affair, what with Stephen's injuries, but his hands seemed to shake less when Toni gently wrapped her calloused fingers around his, the warmth of her hand chasing away the constant dull pain Stephen usually felt. She was fascinated by his scars and often reverently traced them with her inventor's fingers, committing them to memory. She had offered more than once to make him something for the shaking and maybe even the pain, had even offered to further improve Extremis - so he wouldn't have to carry an Arc Reactor in his chest like she had to - and was never offended when he refused. She understood. After all, she, too, bore her scars with pride, suing them as a reminder to be better.

It took him almost two whole months to even entertain the idea of sex. It was the slowest relationship either of them ever had and they were throughly enjoying themselves. They had been at Kamar- Taj, Stephen having to deal with some dimensional threat while Toni actually took a few days off. She had taken Peter and Harley with her, her two unofficially adopted sons who definitely looked at her as a mother - he had met them about a week into their relationship, getting some honestly terrifying shovel talk threats from the two teens that were actually far scarier than anything Rhodey or even Pepper might have come up with - and had simply been hanging around Kamar-Taj until Stephen had returned from his mission. He had then taken her around the market and they returned, laughing like children, to the sanctuary looking at each other with a special kind of wonder.

Stephen knew he was looking at his future right then and there and he didn't need the Eye of Agamotto to confirm it as he led Toni to his quarters in the temple.

When morning came, despite the silencing spell he had put on his room to soundproof it last night, everyone seemed to know what had happened and they were both subjected to relentless teasing, many congratulations, the sight of bets lost and won, two grinning pseudo sons and relieved exclamations of "Finally!" Stephen made sure that training session was exceptionally rigorously hard until everyone was sweating buckets and their knees were giving out on them.

Toni's revenge on her friends was more elegant by playing matchmaker, much to their embarrassment.

Stephen decided he was going to marry her after she managed to one up Wong.

Of course, he didn't dare even truly entertain the idea for a couple of more months, mostly because some form of insecurity formed in his gut. What did he have to offer someone like Toni Stark? He would be homeless if he hadn't taken up being the Master of the Mystic Arts. He didn't have a job - well, not really; protecting the Earth didn't really count since it didn't have any hours or paychecks or vacations involved - and his hands were shot to shit almost completely. In his eyes, Toni deserved the universe and beyond and Stephen had always feared that he wouldn't be able to give it to her.

Thank god for Virginia Pepper Potts. That woman was definitely a godsend, an angel in disguise, a saint sent to Earth to watch over idiots. She and Christine Palmer both. They had managed to convince Stephen that he shouldn't think so little of himself, of his love for Toni and her love for him. They had even pulled up several websites (read over two hundred fifty nine and counting) to show him all the engagement rings in the world. It was an attack on Stephen's photographic memory, all those rings, some of them very nearly identical except in the female eye, but he was grateful for it because that was how he came across the _perfect_ design.

But since he had wanted the ring itself to be special, to represent how much he loved his crazy genius and wanted it to protect her as well, he had simply taken several pictures of it, printed it out and then opened a portal to Nivadellir. Most of the most powerful artifacts in the multiverse came from this mystic, legendary forge, famous for it's terrible, horrifying weaponry made for Asgardians as it might be. Still, the dwarfs were more than excited to make something as simple but as meaningful and symbolic as an engagement ring. He dwarf king Eitri hit it off immediately as he explained what he wanted and described Toni - he had to promise to bring her around sometime, the dwarfs very much interested in this woman blacksmith of Midgard and her iron armor - and parted with them with a unique engagement ring in his pocket. It was elegant, gleaming but not flashy despite the lapis lazuli and the garnet in the ring, warded and charmed and embedded with runes to always protect his beloved.

Getting permission from all of Toni's important people had been hard. He knew what Pepper and Happy thought but he had still asked them and was encouraged to go for it. Harley Keener and Peter Parker were entitled to the second shovel talk they gave him, Iron Spider suit and potato gun Mark IV and all. He didn't even flinch when FRIDAY confronted him in an Iron Maiden suit to give him her own shovel talk. Vision was, thank god, mostly just supportive but he did let a little bit of JARVIS that was left in him take over for a second and remind Strange that his primary protocol will _always_ be to _protect_ Toni Stark.

Rhodey surprised him though, by refusing to give him permission. Not that Stephen could blame the man. Toni was like a little sister to him and he had had to watch her fall apart because of her last boyfriend, who had even almost killed her. But Stephen wasn't like Steve and he would rather kill himself or let Dormammu have a go at him another few million times than ever hurt Toni, so Rhodey was being maybe a little bit irrational.

Still, Stephen was still waiting for the ball to drop when Rhodes figures out that he had proposed to Toni anyway. His fiancée found too much amusement and humor in his fretting.

It had been the greatest day of his life when Toni had said yes. He had been a nervous wreck as he planned their date - they never really tried to go out to fancy places, neither of them finding it to be the right atmosphere for their relationship, which was so oddly sweet - getting everything they might need and preparing a speech in his head. In the end, he had proposed without the traditional kneeling on one knee, simply presenting Toni with a ring and asking her to marry him because he was an asshole that needed a douchebag to put up with him and no one else could keep up with his brain and snark other than her. He had not expected the waterworks, but the blinding smile on her face said that she understood what he was saying perfectly - after all, they weren't exactly a normal couple, now were they?

The night and morning and noon that followed were also something to never forget.

It wasn't the most of romantic approaches but it sure as hell worked for them. They had been glowing and floating for days after the engagement and had never been happier since. Not even the impending return of the Rouges could dampen Toni's mood, although Stephen did have the occasional sinister thought of how he was going to throw them all into the Dark Dimension or feed them to Dormammu himself, one by one. Those thoughts couldn't last, though, because he was so overwhelmingly _happy_. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy. Had he ever been this happy at all? That's an unfortunately sad question but even it couldn't chase away his cheer.

Wong found it amusing, endearing and incredibly annoying. Especially since his cheer was so infectious and whenever Toni went with him to Kamar-Taj, everyone was far more interested in the engagement ring, their engagement itself, them separately, them as a couple and when the wedding was going to take place, can it be in Kamar-Taj _oh we'll plan it for you Master Strange!_ Toni had been nearly tempted to say yes to the last two. Only fear of what Pepper would do to her if she didn't have a hand in planning the wedding stopped her from doing it.

Their lives went on as they had been before, their relationship didn't change all that much, their workload remained the same and their dates were as dorky as ever. Being engaged didn't change them. They had never had a honeymoon period in their relationship to fall out of it, so the relationship itself was always perfectly steady and stable. It stunned people how easily they clicked, especially with their egos. They clashed over the smallest of things but he guessed that was why they never really argued. They bantered all the time, so there was no chance for bitterness to fester, for their problems to go unresolved.

And they did have problems. Lots of them. Neither had normal sleeping hours, although they did try for each other's sake. They were scared in ways no one else can understand, both suffering the loss of the person who had set them on this track of redemption, who had died for them to reach it, to have a chance to make a change. They both had insane responsibilities that more often than not rested squarely on their shoulders and their shoulders alone. They could be snappy and prickly as hell and had two of the sharpest tongues in the multiverse. They would know, some of their dates included going through dimensions if they weren't already for a mission. They were workaholics and perfectionists and very opinionated. They both got attached to artificially intelligent beings, such as Toni's robots and AIs and Stephen's ever present, loyal Cloak of Levitation. And their nightmares, _yee gods_ , don't let him even _start_ on their nightmares!

But, strangely enough, they both slept better when they were holding each other. It probably had something to do with Toni cursing Dormammu almost every day and threatening to make Stephen open up a portal to the Dark Dimension so she could show him what true hell was like - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, they said. The Dark Dimension hath no _terror_ like a woman Stark pissed off! _God_ , Stephen loved her! - and Stephen always muttering about the thousands of different ways he could erase Rogers and the Rouges from existence without anyone ever finding the bodies. They simply chased away each other's nightmares, both during the day and in the night, which really spoke volumes seeing what they had both been through.

Stephen at times swears the Ancient One and his sister visit him in his dreams, smiling at him just as he was waking up with Toni in his arms, happy and approving.

(Toni once confessed to having a similar dream, featuring her parents, Yinsen and her beloved two, JARVIS and Jarvis, tears streaming down her eyes as she held on to him and he soothed her, whispering 'I love you's into her hair and kissing her temple.)

There were bad days, when they both wanted to hide from each other and crawl up inside of each other and never let go. Stephen's hands hurt on cold or rainy days, shaking more than usual, to the point only Toni's smaller hands holding his could lessen the shaking and only alleviate the pain a little. Toni's Arc Reactor, though, didn't have a schedule. It acted up whenever it wanted to. Extremis helped a little, but the skin around the Arc Reactor in Tony's chest would still get inflamed, itchy and unbearably sensitive. Stephen would spend a whole day either holding her to his chest or doting on her every whim. He had offered to use magic to ease the pain - even though it was unlikely to work, since the energy coming out of the reactor could stop an Infinity Stone, let alone these measly spells - but she always refused, saying this was her cross to bear and she will do it with pride.

They both bear their scars with a pride most people would find unhealthy.

Most people wouldn't understand the meaning behind each and every one of them.

Thankfully, neither of them had had any bad days in the last two weeks. It would have been too much to bear with the Rouges around. These people didn't understand common decency or respect or manners. They'd been staring at Stephen every time he walked past them as though they were expecting him to sport a second head or several more arms - not that he _couldn't_ , but that's not the point - and it was starting to get a bit annoying. While this may be only the second time he was around them unprofessionally, there had been, unfortunately, three Avengers meetings so far and each of those meetings the Rouges had spent staring at either Stephen or Toni. Spider-Man - Peter Parker - had even snapped at them to take a picture since it will last longer, much to the amusement of one half of the room and the annoyance of the other.

Today, though, it would seem that the Rouges wanted to talk. In particular, one Steve Rogers.

"So," said blond started, sitting across Stephen at the breakfast table in the kitchen, where Stephen had been drinking his afternoon tea after a long lesson back in Kamar-Taj. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with the Rouges since one of the students had managed to hurt herself when forcing herself for a stronger spell that she was not yet ready to preform, despite all the warning she got from the Masters. She was strong, though, and will recover soon enough but Stephen still hated seeing someone get hurt. It was the doctor in him. "You and Toni?"

"What about us?" The sorcerer replied without looking up from the newspaper he wasn't even really reading. He had already checked all the important stuff and was now contemplating whether Toni will get roped in by Pepper to go to tonight's charity gala and whether he should make a break for Kamar-Taj now and risk her ire or subject himself to the same fate. He wonders when he'd become so whipped.

"How did you guys meet?" Oh, was that irritation in America's (no longer) golden boy's voice? Strange felt real special now to have managed that. He didn't look up as he answered, well aware that Maximoff, Romanoff, Barton and Wilson were all listening. (Lang had had the good sense to grovel for forgiveness at Hope's feet. He swears Toni needs more friends that aren't so terrifying. She, pepper and Hope could run the world. It shouldn't be such a turn on that his girlfriend was so fiercely awesome.) Why couldn't they mind their own business instead of annoying him?

"How can one meet Toni Stark?"

Rogers looks confused and irritated that he had answered his question with another question but plays along. "At a party of some sort."

Stephen nods, finding an interesting article that speculated how much happier the genius, billionaire, playgirl, philanthropist in question seems to appear with Stephen instead of Steve and has to bite back a smile. It warms his heart to know he can cause her such happiness. "And?"

"And what?"

The ex neurosurgeon rolls his eyes, still reading the article and sipping on his delicious tea. He'll have to ask Toni where she got this one and just how much she had paid for it. He should probably stop her from spending so much money on his tea obsession. "Where else can one meet Toni Stark? We had a first meeting twice, so I don't know which one you're asking about." That, and he loved messing with him.

"I don't understand," Steve said, glaring now at the sorcerer and Stephen finally looked up, a smug smirk playing on his lips. He knew the New Avengers had arrived at this point, Peter and Harley glaring at the Rouges, Hope ignoring them as she walked Scott further through the new Accords, Carol giving them a halfhearted wave and Rhodey altering between planning all of their deaths and strangling Stephen - he still didn't approve of him proposing Toni behind his back but dared not try to interfere for fear of Pepper and Toni's wrath descending on him - and Vision had simply floated in through the walls, heading straight for the stove for his daily cooking binge. Usually Toni walked him through it - she was a surprisingly good cook for some dishes, usually Italian related but no one can blame her - but she was nowhere in sight. Stephen could feel her energy signature down in her lab but he had no idea what she was up to this time. She felt fine so he didn't bother her just yet. Probably just an inventing binge if even her two pseudo sons were locked out. And a dangerous one, at that. Oh dear.

"Where else can you meet Toni Stark? I was under the impression that was how _you_ firstmet her." He took another sip of his tea, locking eyes with rogers over the cup. "When she saved your star-spangled ass from Loki, rocking it to the beat of AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill, 1980. She does that a lot."

"So you're saying you met her when she saved you?" The way Rogers said it almost sounded like a taunt, which was rich coming from him, but Stephen saw no shame in admitting his girlfriend can be terrifying when she puts her mind to it. It was hot. And she knew it.

"I said I had two first meetings with her, one at a gala and one when she saved my ass, so yes, I did meet her when I needed assistance out in the field. She's a valuable ally."

"It should be you who's protecting and saving her. It's only gentlemanly." Stephen put his cup down, looking at Rogers as though the man had lost his mind. He probably had, because Stephen _knew_ he had met Peggy Carter, Toni's godmother and honorary aunt. And Agent Peggy Carter was no damsel in distress. Was this idiot a feminist or just that, an _idiot_?

"You know, I think I can see where the problems stemmed from." He made sure his disgust was clear in his voice because, damn, Rogers was dumber than Stephen had thought. Toni Stark was no princess in a tower. She was no damsel in distress. She was a force of nature that quite honestly terrified the shit out of the Masters back at Kamar-Taj and those guys had seen it all.

"Now, listen here-" The now pissed off man said in his best Captain America voice, fists clenched on the counter top as he all but jumped out of his seat but Stephen looked as unimpressed as ever. Though, the Cloak of Levitation looked a bit too eager to strangle Rogers and bang his head against the tile floors for Stephen's comfort. Not that he blamed his constant companion. It was rather fond of Toni, after all. And protective. God help him if he and Toni ever et into a serious disagreement, it was going to go with her. He wouldn't even blame it. He'd go with her, too.

He casually put down his newspapers and leveled Rogers with the best resting bitch face that he had picked up from spending so much time with Wong. "No, _you_ listen." He drawled, drawing his magic to him. If he let his fingers spark, it was mostly for show. He wouldn't use anything short of a portal to send Rogers some place real unpleasant, but he didn't know that and it served as an intimidating factor after they Rouges had caught a few glimpses of just what he can do. "Toni's done with you. Stop intruding on her life any more than you already are. She doesn't get a say in whether you get pardons or if you live here, despite it being her property, but she's willing to deal with you because she's thinking of the greater good of the planet instead of her problems with you. I'm not so willing to let you bother her so cut it out before I _make_ you."

"Is that a threat?" The supersoldier growls and the Sorcerer Supreme glares at him.

"When I threaten you, you will know it." The other Avengers, New and Rouge, were now tense, waiting for the two men to start throwing punches and and jump in to help, but before the tension can get any more unbearable, a bubbly Toni waltzes into the room, completely disregarding the thick atmosphere. She glides right up to Stephen, takes hold of his face and draws him into a passionate kiss that steals his breath away. He blinks blearily when she pulls back and notices her thousand Walt smile, sending his heart beating a staccato rhythm. She looks breathtaking. "Toni, wha-?"

"You beautiful, magical man!" She crows, drawing him into another kiss that may or may not have shut down his brain. He stares after her dazedly as she maneuvers through the room until she pulls Vision away from his latest abandoned cooking adventure. She holds up a handbag for him to see, open only enough for the two of them to see inside and leaving everyone else in the dark, but Vision's eyes widened and he stares at her as though he was looking at a miracle in the flesh. Toni just grins wider. "Yep!"

"But I though-"

"So did I, Viz. So did I." She says with an incredulous look in her eyes when the red android doesn't finish his thought, but happiness shines through the brightest. "But it seems miracles can happen." At that, the barer of the Mind Stone finally smiles, the brightest and widest smile any of them have seen on Vision so far and hugs the woman tightly. She returns the hug enthusiastically before she grabs his wrist and drags him out. "Come on, I need someone with me to tell me I'm not dreaming." She smiles at Stephen against just before she and Vision get out of sight. "I'll talk to you later, babe!"

Stephen just stares after her while the others are talking amongst themselves speculating about Toni's strange behavior.

The only thing he makes out is "What the hell was all that about?"


	3. Chapter 3

Toni couldn't help but stare at the - not so - little miracle in her hands. It was a simple picture but it had the potential to change her whole life, and for the first time, it might just be for the better. She couldn't believe it. She had never thought she'd find herself in this situation and she honestly couldn't tell whether she deserved to be here in the first place or not. She had messed it up already once, she wasn't sure if she could survive messing it up a second time.

But the delighted faces of one Christine Palmer - who had turned into a very close friend after she met Stephen - and Vision - whom she had thought was the closest she'd ever get to a human-ish kid of her own that wasn't (officially or not) adopted - chased away her doubts and she just enjoyed this should be impossible moment.

She wondered if this was how her father felt when he realized he was getting a kid.

Despite what the media had presumed, or even the old Avengers, Toni did not, in fact, hate her father. In fact, they had been abnormally close for a man who was so busy. He had been absurdly busy with the company, with SHIELD - not that Toni had known about it until much later - and with finding Captain America. Sure, there had been a rough few periods, like when Toni hit puberty just when she was supposed to go to MIT at fifteen and she started accusing Howard for not being around more often. She had held a bit of jealousy and insecurity regarding one Steve Rogers for a while, a few times in her life, but Howard had never shown any signs that he regretted she was not a son. Why should he? Toni loved tinkering in the lab as much as he did and they could spend _hours_ in his workshop. Usually Jarvis or Maria or even Aunt Peggy had to drag them out and even _then_ it was hard since Toni could wrap them around her little fingers until she hit double digits and Peggy formed an immunity to her puppy dog eyes. Howard never did. She was his little girl and he would dot on her in a way no other father would. To be expected. Toni wasn't the most ordinary of people. She wasn't girly. She didn't want ponies and pink frilly dresses and her mother's makeup and other such things. She wanted tools and parts and other such things. She was a mechanic and an inventor, a creator and a futurist through and through.

When he had died with Maria in what had been known for many years as a car accident, she had been devastated. She loved both her parents, no matter how often they had left her alone with Jarvis at home. After all, the media spot light was no place for a mere kid, even if her own genius had landed her smack in the middle of it. Being able to make a first - and most advanced, for that time - circuit-board at only four and an engine - smaller yet stronger - at eight and being accepted into MIT at fifteen and graduating _suma cum laude_ at seventeen can sure do that for you. Every prize and trophy and award she had ever won had been in the press before the congratulations speech was over. The frequent absence of her father at the ceremonies for said achievements was probably what had led to the media outlet that he was a bad father in the first place.

Howard couldn't afford to let the world know just how much his only child meant to him. She had been first kidnapped when she was only five months old. She didn't remember it but Toni had a small scar on her left palm that had been used to drive home the danger of the threat to Howard and Maria. SHIELD had apparently found her before Howard had to pay the ransom, which was good, since that would only end up putting a price tag on Toni's head. The kidnappings lessened as Toni got closer to double digits. Not only was she obnoxious and snarky and insufferable when bored - and she was often bored in such situations - but she was becoming increasingly more dangerous and more valuable not as a way to earn Howard's money, but as the source of money and power herself.

Toni had made her first riffle when she was seven and had called it child's play. It had been a weapon that had put any of Howard's designs so far to shame and her father had did his best to hide that fact lest someone try to use her for something other than a ransom. After all, hostages used for ransom were mostly left untouched while inventor hostages were tortured and beaten until they agreed to make whatever their captors wanted - case and point, Afghanistan - and it could only be a hundred times worse for a girl. Especially a girl who was turning out as pretty as Toni had been during her last kidnapping - the one before Afghanistan - when she had been turning sixteen. They had grabbed her out of a wild campus Halloween party and managed to ship her all the way to Alaska, where they ordered her to make them a missal. Toni had agreed and they left her - unsupervised, the mongrels - to her work, which ended up being not only a distress signal to every law keeping organization on Earth but also a hand carried tank that Toni easily used to blow up their base. She didn't bother with making new guns, simply taking the ones they had and by the time the first agents and policemen arrived, she had had them all tied up and waiting for arrest for half an hour already, keeping a riffle and her cannon trained on them.

That was the first time the world realized there was a new Merchant of Death waiting in the wings.

It was also the first time Stane became _truly_ interested in her brains. That didn't end up well for him.

The kidnappings stopped after she had become the CEO of Stark industries, not long after her parent's and Jarvis' deaths. She had spent two years cramming several diplomas - a few of them secret because she had known Obadiah would nag at her for how useless they were for a iron monger company - into her repertoire and making her very first and the world's greatest ever AI, JARVIS, named after the man who had done his best to fill in the emptiness of the Stark Manor whenever Howard and Maria had to leave little Toni behind. DUM-E, U and Butterfingers were moved to her new Malibu mansion and JARVIS was installed and connected to the SI mainframe and she started working, turning the world upside down on their heads with her ideas and designs. She hated building weapons but it made a lot of money, which allowed a lot of space for charity work and other, far more interesting research.

Back then, she couldn't even imagine herself being in a semi-stable relationship, let alone one day settling down and having a family of her own. She was both too busy and too recently-turned-independent to give up her newfound freedom. She just wanted to enjoy her life and do whatever the hell she wanted. She had Rhodey and she had Pepper and she had Happy - not to mention her bots; she always had her bots - and she had thought she had Obie, too. She had thought she didn't need much more of a family than them so she had never even tried. She used to sleep around and drink and sometimes gamble and always party (formal or crazy, she didn't give a shit), but she never made any new lasting friendships let alone intimate relationships. She turned dozens of proposals (drunken or otherwise) down and she never regretted it.

That is, until Afghanistan nearly ended in her death and she met Yinsen. Until she realized that, for all that she has and that she had once had, she now had nothing. Everything (that's not important) and nothing (that's important). So she had resolved to change that when she comes back - not if; she's Toni fucking Stark, she'll make it possible, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem - and Yinsen dying for her had only driven that resolve deeper home. Only when she came back, there was the whole Stane dealing under the table deal, Iron Maiden, the press and later the whole Palladium poisoning, Romanoff and SHIELD participating in company espionage, her father's video diary ("What is and always has been my greatest creation is you."), making Starkenium and dealing with Vanko, she didn't really get a chance to keep to that resolve until the Avengers happened and she met Steve Rogers, Captain fucking America.

It wasn't love on first sight, it was barely tolerating-each-other's-presence-because-the-Earth-depends-on-it on first sight and they clashed almost immediately. Rogers was a man out of time and he hated Toni because she was the representation of everything that was 'wrong' with the world today, seventy years since he had crashed a Nazi plane into the ice to save the world. He wanted to keep clinging on to the past while Toni was the future personified. A physical reminder that his friends and world are gone and that they had left him behind. They would have probably fought even without the scepter, but it had amplified everything Toni had ever disliked about her father going away to search for the blond supersoldier - she had never minded while he was alive and then when he had died, she had always mourned so many lost opportunities to do something together. Then New York happened and she nearly died in that portal, only to wake up to the Hulk's roar and have Steve kiss her in the heat of the moment.

It took them months to hook up and Rhodey, her honey-bear and older brother since MIT - she couldn't believe either her father or the faculty itself had allowed them to be roommates, but Howard had met Rhodey and had seen how he looked at his daughter and had accepted him with open arms as long as Rhodes promised to look out for her, which he would have done either way - wasn't helping the situation with his overprotective nonsense. Not that she didn't understand or blamed him for it. He had promised Jarvis on his deathbed to always look out for 'Young Miss Stark' and was still keeping his promise to Howard to be a good older bro for Toni. The Avengers at large got the man's scrutiny but Pepper had managed to convince Rhodey with Toni to calm the heck down and so the Avengers became a thing.

When they first started dating, Toni had noticed that she and Steve tended to clash even after they had talked it all out, what had happened in the Helicarrier. She had assumed it was simply a couple's thing. She had never had a longstanding relationship so she didn't know much about them, had nothing to compare or reference it to. So she hadn't paid it much attention. She regretted that now, years later, even though their relationship had laster almost four whole years with a short break right after the whole Ultron debacle. In fact, she had noticed only Bruce seemed to truly want her around in the Avengers. Barton was indifferent, Romanoff had no real emotions or opinions or loyalties to speak of if they weren't a facade, Thor had left with Loki even though he had a floor designated for himself and Steve seemed ambivalent on the matter even after they started dating. She swore he looked at her at times as though she were as fragile as glass and might crack any second now. It had been fucking annoying and a source of plenty of arguments.

(Wasn't it ironic that the only time he recognized that she could look after herself in a fight was when he was beating her down in a Siberian bunker? The hypocrite.)

She guessed she should have known just how toxic the team was - and how right Banner had been that they were a ticking time bomb - when none of them had even called at all during the Mandarin incident. What was worse, Rogers and Romanoff had been off exposing every single file SHIELD had ever gathered and Fury - she was still trying to reconnect him with her almost always absent Uncle Nick - had to contact her to save his numerous agents that were in the field and at their homes when the leak came out. As if the surgery to remove the Arc Reactor and finding the right dosage of Extremis to save Pepper from an explosive, fiery death hadn't been taxing enough, Toni had had to fight for hundreds if not thousands of lives. She was still haunted by the people she had failed to save. She had forced herself to remember all of their names, their ages when they died and their faces as a reminder to never fail so spectacularly again.

Unfortunately, she still did. Ultron was chaos unleashed and she had, for a long time, been unsure as to how involved she had actually been in the whole deal. The program was supposed to be peace-keeping and yet was so easily corrupted - because it saw the world for what it was, not because of Toni, not even because of the Mind Stone because sweet, innocent Vision came from the same origins and he was nothing like how Ultron had turned out. She never forgave herself for JARVIS sacrificing himself for her and she would never forget the tragedy that had befallen Sokovia. She even mourned Pietro Maximoff - he had been a mislead young man whom HYDRA had taken advantage of.

She never had such sympathies for Wanda.

Wanda was an ambivalent presence, as far as Toni was concerned, and a very unwanted one. On some days she was sweet, calm, gentle, a true little angel. On other days, she would curse and shout and her hands and eyes would be red and she would be tearing posters and pictures of Toni apart. Toni never knew for sure on which side she actually was - she was the one that had convinced Pietro to join HYDRA in the first place and she had been the first to jump at the opportunity to help Ultron until she realized she and her brother, too, would be exterminated in Ultron's plan. She hated Toni with a passion not even all of hr enemies combined had but she acted like a sweet, innocent victim whenever she lashed out at Toni with her magic, claiming it was a loss of control and not on purpose.

(How Toni had ended up dating a sorcerer after so many bad experiences with magic was still a mystery to her.)

Lagos was both and not her fault when the bomb she threw up in the air to save Steve ended up killing so many people, causing a swift chain of events to lead to the legalization of the Accords. Toni will never forgive any of her former teammates for the Civil War and she didn't know which one she was the angriest with. Clint, for leaving his family behind to feel the glory of the old days when he got bored of his farm life and retirement; Natasha, for being such a backstabber - not that she had expected any better from her, which was why she had never shared all of her plans with the spy - Sam, for being a fucking sheep that followed Rogers wherever he went; Wanda, for what she had done to Vision, both physically and emotionally - Vision had been so unsure of his place in the world after she had turned on him, the little witch - or Steve, for his countless betrayals and that one final act that had ended the life of a baby Toni hadn't even known she was carrying.

She couldn't be angry at T'Challa, Scott or even Barnes.

T'Challa was a young leader, confused, recently made king in the wake of his father's death and Toni remembered what it was like to inherit an empire you were not sure how to properly lead. She couldn't be angry with him or blame him. He thought he was doing what was best. She _did_ blame him and _was_ angry at him, however, for the mess he made when he chased after Rogers and Barnes and that bridge he had collapsed on the highway. She had made sure to send him the bill.

Lang was a poor idiot that the Rouges had taken advantage of. A hero, by any form of definition of the word, only so short a time, an ex con and criminal that wanted to make a name and place for himself in the world that his little daughter could be proud of, getting called in by _Captain America_? She couldn't blame him for falling for the glimmer and shine, since she had, once, too, before she saw the ugly truth. He had followed blindly and she figured Hank and Hope will have dealt with him fine enough.

As for Barnes ... While he did kill her parents, he had been used as a weapon by HYDRA. Now, if her supposed future husband had been man enough to confront her about it before she was watching it happen from a crappy recording with the murderer there himself in the flesh, a mere few feet away from her, she might not have lashed out the way she had. And to think that she had been so delighted when he had proposed to her ... She couldn't help but shake her head at her own stupidity and naivety.

After she woke up in the hospital and everything crashed down on her - the near death, the betrayal, the loss of her child, Extremis, the media and political uproar - she had thought she would never gt a chance to not waste her life like Yinsen had asked of her, that she would never find love - it had been a miracle enough that she had found Steve, or so she used to think before it all went to shit - again and that she will never get to have a family and kids of her own. The Stark line stops with her and the future was all the more bleak for it because who will lead the world into it if not a Stark?

And yet, here in her hand and in her handbag and on the papers that Christine and Vision were both holding and reading over and over again as if not believing the analysis, was the proof that the cosmos had finally smiled down upon her and she had been gifted this ... miracle she had never dared ask for because a refusal would have broken her once and for all. She can safely say that Stephen was the best thing to have ever happened to her in her life and it wouldn't even be an exaggeration or dramatics. It was plain and simple truth. Fact!

"Congratulations, Toni! You'll be having a baby!" Christine finally said with tears rolling down her cheeks even as she hugged the stunned genius in happiness and Toni only now registered that this was real. It wans't a dream. The little ultrasound picture in her hand was of her baby. Her and Stephen's. She was two months pregnant and she hadn't even known it. She wouldn't have even known it had it not been for FRIDAY detecting a change in her hormones during her monthly checkup. She had to keep a close eye on Extremis. She may have been able to stabilize it with the Arc Reactor as the source of energy, but there was still no way of knowing how it might interact with the remains of palladium in Toni's bloodstream after 2010. Had it not been for the checkup ... "I'm glad to tell you that both you and the baby are perfectly fine."

"But how is this even possible?" The genius finally dared ask, barely daring to breathe lest it somehow change this reality. "I thought ... I thought the trauma and Extremis had rendered me sterile."

"I can't say I have any idea how it happened, but I can only tell you that it's perfectly natural." The doctor said as she handed over the analysis to Toni. "Perhaps someone is finally smiling down on you. Or maybe Stephen just has magical sperm." Vision, poor, innocent, naive Vision, choked on air but Toni let out a breathy laugh. It had never felt better to laugh than it did now. Sure, she had taken every pregnancy test known to man when she had realized what was happening with her hormones - she had to check since her hormones had been shot to shit when Extremis had merged with her body - but having a doctor confirm it, holding the ultrasound and the results of all tests in her hand finally made it real and she loved Stephen all the more for it.

"Maybe." She agreed and felt all of her earlier giddiness return. She couldn't _wait_ to ell Stephen!

So she didn't. She almost said bye to Christine and thanked her for her help today so she can go back to the Compound and share the happy news, but the woman checked out early and insisted that she go, too, so she can congratulate the father right away. Toni knew she was coming only so she can watch the moment Stephen realizes what was going on and starts freaking out, whether in a good or a hilarious way yet remains to be seen. So Toni, Vision and Christine got into the car and started excitedly debating baby names and placing bets on the gender. Toni didn't care either way, since she would love the baby even if it was born with a third eye or an extra mouth, but she enjoyed the giddiness of the moment and indulged them.

By the time they got back to the Compound - by which point Happy had lowered the privacy screen and had realized what they were talking about and had joined in after the most embarrassing squeal a grown man had ever emitted when he realized Toni was pregnant and had congratulated her in the most uncharacteristic manner - they were already examining baby furniture, discussing colors and forwarding the wedding plans. Pepper was already on her way from her business trip in Seattle when Happy connected her through and they shared the news and all squealed and cooed like little girls at a slumber party.

Toni felt the same as when Stephen had proposed to her - somehow, she found his humble proposal ten times better and more sincere than Steve tying to be something he's not just to impress her when he had proposed; another plus for the Sorcerer Supreme! -as though nothing and no one could ruin her day. She strutted through the doors of the common room in the Compound like she owned the place - she did, but that's not what's important right now - only to find that the Rouges hadn't moved much since she left two hours ago. She rolled her eyes at her former teammates, beyond exasperated with them, but, then again, her own team was still here, too. Rhodey still looked like he was shuffling planning Stephen's strangulation and the demise of Rogers and his lot all the while chatting with Carol. She loved her honey-bear, she really did, but she needed Stephen alive, thank you very much. She was the only one in this family who will be having supposed 'daddy issues', thank you very much.

Anyway, her dear husband - no use saying future anymore, since Pepper had already set a wedding date in two months form now. Toni briefly wondered if Stephen would freak out about that more than finding out about the baby. Anything was possible by now, she'd learned that much in her crazy life - had relocated to the counter seats and was reading a book on some sort of magic. It was in ancient Greek and Toni made a mental note to ask him to teach her. Greek, not magic. She was a woman of science, damn it. Even if science had failed her in this particular miracle. Then again, she still didn't know whether magic affected Stephen's performance and and sperm. She'd have to ask him.

Or better yet, ask Wong when Stephen was around so they could have a good laugh. God, she sometimes swears Wong is a brother from a different mother with the way they needle and rib Stephen. He'll be a good best man at the wedding. She can't wait to hear that train-wreck-waiting-to-happen of a speech. Well, train-wreck for Stephen's reputation and image of an unflappable almighty sorcerer.

She grinned when she noticed most of the room was nursing a drink or snacking on something and a wicked idea flashed through her mind. The only ones who had looked up at her entrance were Peter and Barnes - Steve was too busy glaring at Stephen, who was too busy ignoring all of the stupid in the room, Romanoff and Barton were too busy with their conspiracy plans to get her to cooperate and fix them their gear again that they thought FRIDAY wasn't lipreading and informing Toni of, play by play, Hope was still too deep in the legal jargon with Scott, Rhodey and Carol were too busy flirting, Wanda was too busy being a psycho bitch (okay, so Toni didn't really care what she was doing but she was entitled, thank you very much) and Harley and Sam were too deeply immersed in the movie and the popcorn in front of them to notice - so this was going to be so much fun.

Without hesitation - there were two highly qualified doctors in the room to deal with any suffocation by choking on food if it came to that - she made her voice was heard throughout the room. "So, we're getting married in two months." As she expected, there was more than one choking and coughing - she had timed it well so that most of the room had taken a bit or a sip of their beverage - and she couldn't help the silly grin on her face when Stephen whirled around - she didn't care that Rogers had done it, too, with a hopeful look on his face that would have made her stomach churn, especially if she recalled what he had caused - to look at her with the most priceless surprised face that had ever graced the expression of a human face. She told FRIDAY over their link with Extremis to take a picture and save it on a secure hard drive even as she admired the gobsmacked look in Stephen's eyes. It was extremely hard to catch the man off guard. Behind her, Christine did her best to repress her giggles. "Pepper will be picking you up tomorrow at eight a.m. sharp and don't even try to resist."

Strange worked his throat a few times, trying to get his mouth working again, much to his soon to be wife's amusement. "Not that I'm complaining or particularly mind," he managed after a minute of trying to get his shit back together. "But I was under the impression you wanted a winter wedding so you could have an excuse not to wear a white wedding dress?"

She ignored how scandalized Steve looked at the thought of it not being a traditional wedding - he had no say in her life anymore and even less in her wedding - as she grinned at Stephen and sauntered over to where her two adopted kids were, dropping her handbag into Harley's lap, knowing he won't be as polite or hesitant to look inside as Peter might be and that worked in her favor right now. "Fuck the white wedding dress, I'm Iron Maiden and I'll be getting married in a red and gold dress if I have to set every other dress in the world on fire."

"I somehow doubt Pepper would let you do that," Hope pipped up, stopping the legal talks in order the pay attention to the wedding planing drama that might occur.

"You can compromise by wearing a mostly white dress with enough red and gold to satisfy your need for flare." Carol suggested, looking curiously over to the gobsmacked Peter and Harley, who were staring at the contents of the handbag as though it was the most incredible thing they had ever seen. She cast her glance back at Toni and the brunette nodded with an eager grin, so the blond woman went over to look down, too. Her gasp of surprise and then squeal of delight drew the right attention to the little bag and Toni didn't even feel nervous when Stephen's inquiring eyes turned to her. She trusted him more than she had ever trusted Steve. "Oh my god!"

"What is it?" Hope asked as she wandered over with Scott following her like a lost puppy, as per usual. In answer to her question, Carol snagged the handbag and shoved it practically into Hope's face. The usually composed woman's jaw dropped before she, too, gave a squeal even as Carol all but teleported over to Rhodey.

"James, love, look!" And the black skinned man was given the same treatment. Only it took him a moment longer to process what he was seeing and his eyes widened to the size of saucers while his jaw hit the ground. Those dark, astonished eyes turned to look at the giddy Toni and her still confused boyfriend before going back to the little handbag. "Isn't it amazing!"

"That's sure one way to put it." The other Rouges were already walking over, wondering if they could see what was going on, too, or if they would get ignored. Toni ignored them all and just kissed her still confused soon to be husband. She pulled away with a groan when Rogers decided to speak up.

"Are you sure about this, Toni? I mean, isn't it rushing it a bit? Too soon? You've not been going out even for half a year when he'd asked you ... "

She cut him off. "Of course I'm sure." She scoffed. "He loves me and makes me happy. I'm damn well allowed to be loved and happy. I think I deserved it, after all the shit I've been through. It's about damn time, too."

Stephen got the most breathtaking smile at that while Christine cooed in the background. He kissed Toni with all of his passion, love and devotion before turning over with a smug smirk to look at Rhodey. "Here that, Colonel Rhodes? I think I've earned my right to marry her if I managed to drive that point home into her thick, stubborn skull."

And while Rhodey did look impressed and incredibly happy that Toni had gotten that point, he was equally as smug - and overjoyed - as he handed over the handbag, knowing the reaction that Stephen will have. Confused, Stephen reached out for it but Rhodey decided to be a vindictive little bitch and spilled the contents all across the counter so everyone could see the two dozen different pregnancy tests, the official pregnancy test from the hospital and the medical report and, of course, the ultrasound picture that landed right in front of the sorcerer. Toni was treated to the first row show of Stephen losing all of his composure as he all but snatched up several tests, the hospital analysis and the ultrasound while the Rouges gapped at what they had all been told was impossible. The New Avengers and Christine were all grinning. Peter was even taking pictures of all of their faces so that he could put it on Tweeter later or send it to Shuri.

Toni didn't mind. She was too busy enjoying the look of wonder that came over Stephen's face when he looked back at her. "So, baby names-" She started but was interrupted when he surged out of his seat, maneuvered her into a bridal style carry and started spinning her around with laughter bubbling out of his chest. She didn't mind. She joined in the laughter and hugged him around the neck, enjoying this moment of boundless happiness. It made all of her years of hardships and loneliness worth it. She guessed it must be the same for Stephen, too, judging by the kiss he gave her a moment later as he slowed down and gently lowered her to her feet again.

"Thank you," he whispered against her lips and Toni felt her heart flutter.

"I should be the one thanking you. I honestly don't know how this happened but I'm willing to bet half of my fortune and company that it had something to do with you and your bibbidi-bobbidi-boo."

Stephen laughed at that, the couple completely ignoring the devastation that was playing on Rogers' face. Let him see what he could have had but had ruined. Rogers had had his chance and he had wasted it. Toni had never been one to constantly look over her shoulder at the past, much more preferring to look forwards, towards the future and she wasn't about to change that. Thankfully, her new boyfriend had the same tendency (some times quite literally). He held up the ultrasound picture between them, eyes shinning with unconditional love down at the women he had decided to marry. "Whatever it was that caused this little miracle, I can't thank it enough. Perhaps there is mercy in the multiverse."

Toni could only smile and rest her head against his chest, listening to his soothing, if excited, heartbeat. "Not so little, this miracle." Stephen hummed his agreement and they stayed like that for a few more moments before they had to separate so that their friend could congratulate the happy couple and future parents. Even the Rouges were happy for them. Well, maybe not Rogers. Maybe not ever, maybe not just yet. Toni didn't expect much from him but if Wanda, who hated her guts, could genuinely congratulate her, then Steve should be able, too. Not that she cared.

There will be plenty of problems along the way, since she was both a superhero and a very public personality. Both she and Stephen led dangerous lives and they both had plenty of enemies. They had problems and probably won't be the definition of the parents of the year, but they will both give it their best and love their baby with all that they have. This will probably be the only chance Toni has to have a kid and she wants to enjoy it in the fullest. She couldn't imagine a better person to start a family with than Stephen Strange.

They had their little miracle.

Maybe they will also finally find their happiness, too.

**THE END**


End file.
